JP2019094880A - Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method and a program capable of preventing an on-vehicle sensor from becoming dirty by devising the way of control.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: a recognition unit for recognizing a preceding vehicle existing in front of an own vehicle; a determination unit for determining whether or not a micro object on the road being stirred up by the preceding vehicle affects the recognition unit, based on a recognition state of the front of the own vehicle when the preceding vehicle is recognized by the recognition unit; and an operation control unit for controlling a speed of the own vehicle so as to increase a relative distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, in the case where the micro object on the road being stirred up by the preceding vehicle is determined to affect the recognition unit by the determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is known to clean dirt on a vehicle-mounted optical sensor by injecting a washing solution from a washing solution nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2014-19403, A

  However, when the cleaning liquid can not be cleaned and remains dirty, the automatic detection can not be continued because the detection capability of the sensor is lowered. Moreover, when such an apparatus is provided in a vehicle, the aerodynamic loss is large, and the problem is also large in terms of maintaining the strength.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program capable of preventing the on-vehicle sensor from being soiled by control devices. One of the

  (1): A recognition unit (130) for recognizing a leading vehicle existing ahead of the host vehicle, and a recognition state in front of the host vehicle when the leading vehicle is recognized by the recognition unit, A determination unit (146) that determines whether a minute object on the road being rolled up by the forerunner vehicle affects the recognition unit; and the determination unit on the road being rolled up by the forerunner vehicle The driving control unit (150, 160) controls the speed of the host vehicle so as to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle when it is determined that the minute object affects the recognition unit 130. And V.).

  (2): In (1), the information processing apparatus further comprises an acquisition unit (142) for acquiring weather information of the area where the vehicle is present, and the determination unit further determines based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit. It is determined whether the minute object on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle influences the recognition unit.

  (3): In (2), the determination unit determines whether or not the recognition capability by the recognition unit in the future will be degraded by the rolled-up micro object based on the weather information, and the driving is performed. The control unit controls the speed of the vehicle so as to increase the relative distance when it is determined by the determination unit that the recognition capability of the recognition unit in the future is reduced due to the wound up minute object. What to do.

  (4) In any one of (1) to (3), the recognition unit further recognizes the state of the road surface, and the determination unit recognizes that the road surface is wet by the recognition unit. And when it is not raining, it is determined that the minute object on the road being wound up by the preceding vehicle affects the recognition unit.

  (5) In any one of (1) to (4), when the recognition capability by the recognition unit is less than a threshold, the determination unit is configured to move the minute object on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle. It determines that it affects the recognition unit.

  (6): In any one of (1) to (5), the determination unit determines whether it is immediately after precipitation or not, based on weather information of the area where the vehicle is present, and in precipitation The operation control unit is determined by the determination unit that the minute object on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit and that it is immediately after precipitation. In this case, compared with the case where it is determined that the minute object on the road being wound up by the forerunner vehicle affects the recognition unit and it is determined that it is raining, between the own vehicle and the forerunner vehicle Control the speed of the vehicle so as to increase the relative distance.

  (7) A recognition unit (130) for recognizing a front traveling vehicle present ahead of the host vehicle, and a road surface condition, an acquisition part (142) for acquiring weather information of an area where the host vehicle exists, The recognition unit recognizes that the road surface is wet, and when it is not raining, the recognition unit does not recognize that the road surface is wet, as compared to when it is raining. A vehicle control unit (150, 160) for controlling the speed of the host vehicle so as to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle and the front vehicle.

  (8): The recognition unit recognizes the front traveling vehicle present in front of the own vehicle, and the determination unit is based on the recognition state in front of the own vehicle when the front traveling vehicle is recognized by the recognition unit It is determined whether the minute object on the road wound up by the forerunner vehicle affects the recognition unit, and the operation control unit causes the judgment unit to roll up the winding vehicle by the forerunner vehicle. A vehicle control method for controlling the speed of the vehicle so as to increase the relative distance between the vehicle and the forerunner vehicle when it is determined that the minute object of the vehicle affects the recognition unit.

  (9): The computer is made to recognize the front traveling vehicle present in front of the own vehicle, and is rolled up by the front traveling vehicle based on the recognition state in front of the own vehicle when making the front traveling vehicle recognized. When it is determined whether a minute object on a road affects recognition of a preceding vehicle, and it is determined that a minute object on the road being wound up by the preceding vehicle affects recognition of a preceding vehicle A program for controlling the speed of the host vehicle so as to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle.

  According to (1) to (9), contamination of the on-vehicle sensor can be prevented by the control device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram of the vehicle system 1 using the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target track | orbit is produced | generated based on a recommendation lane. 5 is an example of an image 301 captured by a camera 10; 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a first determination process performed by the first control unit 120. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a second determination process performed by the first control unit 120. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of third determination processing executed by the first control unit 120. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 4th determination processing performed by the 1st control part 120. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 5th determination processing performed by the 1st control part 120. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 6th determination processing performed by the 1st control part 120. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 7th determination processing performed by the 1st control part 120. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 8th determination processing performed by the 1st control part 120. It is a functional block diagram of 100 A of automatic driving | operation control apparatuses which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the 9th determination processing performed by 1st control part 120A. It is a block diagram of vehicle system 1B using the vehicle control device concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the vehicle control apparatus of each embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 using a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. The vehicle on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted is, for example, a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle, a three-wheeled vehicle, or a four-wheeled vehicle. When the motor is provided, the motor operates using the power generated by the generator connected to the internal combustion engine or the discharge power of the secondary battery or the fuel cell.

  The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, and a navigation device 50; It comprises an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a drive operator 80, an automatic drive control device 100, a traveling drive power output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220. These devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). One or more cameras 10 are attached to any part of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. When imaging the front, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly captures the periphery of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

  The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the host vehicle M and detects radio waves (reflected waves) reflected by the object to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. One or more of the radar devices 12 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and the velocity of the object by a frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) method.

  The finder 14 is a light detection and ranging (LIDAR). The finder 14 irradiates light around the host vehicle M and measures scattered light. The finder 14 detects the distance to the object based on the time from light emission to light reception. The light to be irradiated is, for example, pulsed laser light. One or more finders 14 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M.

  The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection result of a part or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. In addition, the object recognition device 16 may output the detection results of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to the automatic driving control device 100 as it is, as necessary. Note that the speed acquisition unit may include the radar device 12.

  The communication device 20 communicates with other vehicles existing around the host vehicle M using, for example, a cellular network, Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or wireless It communicates with various server devices via the base station.

  The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupant of the host vehicle M, and accepts input operation by the occupant. The HMI 30 includes various display devices, speakers, a buzzer, a touch panel, switches, keys, and the like.

  The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects an angular velocity around the vertical axis, and an azimuth sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M.

  The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a path determination unit 53, and stores the first map information 54 in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. Hold The GNSS receiver 51 specifies the position of the host vehicle M based on the signal received from the GNSS satellite. The position of the host vehicle M may be identified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-described HMI 30. The route determination unit 53, for example, a route from the position of the host vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or an arbitrary position input) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52 (hereinafter referred to as The route on the map is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which a road shape is represented by a link indicating a road and a node connected by the link. The first map information 54 may include road curvature, POI (Point Of Interest) information, and the like. The on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53 is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may also perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 may be realized by, for example, the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by a passenger. In addition, the navigation device 50 may transmit the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20, and acquire the on-map route returned from the navigation server.

  The MPU 60 functions as, for example, a recommended lane determination unit 61, and holds the second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determination unit 61 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, in units of 100 [m] in the traveling direction of the vehicle), and refers to the second map information 62 for each block. Determine the recommended lanes. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines which lane to travel from the left. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines the recommended lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable route for traveling to a branch destination when a branch point, a junction point, or the like exists in the route.

  The second map information 62 is map information that is more accurate than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. Further, the second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated as needed by accessing another device using the communication device 20.

  The operating element 80 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, a modified steering wheel, a joystick and other operating elements. A sensor for detecting the amount of operation or the presence or absence of an operation is attached to the driving operation element 80, and the detection result is the automatic driving control device 100 or the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device. It is output to at least one or all of 220.

  The automatic driving control device 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. Each of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160 is realized, for example, when a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) executes a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Circuit (including circuitry) or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160. As shown in FIG. The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 150. The first control unit 120 implements, for example, a function by artificial intelligence (AI) and a function by a given model in parallel. For example, in the “identify intersection” function, recognition of an intersection by deep learning etc. and recognition based on predetermined conditions (a signal capable of pattern matching, road marking, etc.) are executed in parallel, and both are performed. It is realized by scoring against and comprehensively evaluating. This ensures the reliability of automatic driving.

  The recognition unit 130 detects the position of an object in the vicinity of the host vehicle M, the state of the velocity, the acceleration, and the like based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16. recognize. The position of the object is recognized as, for example, a position on an absolute coordinate with a representative point (such as the center of gravity or the center of the drive axis) of the host vehicle M as an origin, and is used for control. The position of the object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the object, or may be represented by a represented region. The "state" of an object may include the acceleration and jerk of both objects, or the "action state" (e.g., whether or not a lane change is being made or is being made). Further, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the shape of a curve through which the host vehicle M passes from now on the basis of the captured image of the camera 10. The recognition unit 130 converts the shape of the curve from the captured image of the camera 10 to a real plane, and for example, information indicating the shape of the curve which is expressed using two-dimensional point sequence information or a model equivalent thereto. Output to the action plan generation unit 150.

  The recognition unit 130 also recognizes, for example, a lane in which the host vehicle M is traveling (traveling lane). The lane recognition result indicates, for example, where the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling is among a plurality of lanes in the same traveling direction. In the case of one lane, that effect may be the recognition result. For example, the recognition unit 130 may use a pattern of road division lines obtained from the second map information 62 (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) and road division lines around the host vehicle M recognized from an image captured by the camera 10 The traveling lane is recognized by comparing with the pattern of. The recognition unit 130 may recognize the traveling lane by recognizing a runway boundary (road boundary) including not only road division lines but also road division lines, road shoulders, curbs, median dividers, guard rails and the like. . In this recognition, the position of the host vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 or the processing result by the INS may be added. The recognition unit 130 also recognizes a stop line, an obstacle, a red light, a toll booth, and other road events.

  When recognizing the traveling lane, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the position and attitude of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. The recognition unit 130 is, for example, a deviation of the reference point of the host vehicle M from the center of the lane, and an angle formed by a line connecting the center of the lane in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M It may be recognized as an attitude. Also, instead of this, the recognition unit 130 sets the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to any one side end (road segment or road boundary) of the travel lane relative to the host vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. It may be recognized as

  In the above recognition process, the recognition unit 130 may derive recognition accuracy and output the recognition accuracy information to the action plan generation unit 150. For example, the recognition unit 130 generates recognition accuracy information based on the frequency at which a road marking can be recognized in a fixed period.

  The recognition unit 130 includes a winding state recognition unit 140. The winding state recognition unit 140 includes an acquisition unit 142, a state recognition unit 144, and a determination unit 146. These configurations will be described later.

  The action plan generation unit 150 travels in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61 in principle, and further determines events to be sequentially executed in automatic driving so as to correspond to the surrounding situation of the host vehicle M. Do. The event includes, for example, a constant speed traveling event which travels the same traveling lane at a constant speed, a following traveling event which follows the front traveling vehicle m, an overtaking event which passes the front traveling vehicle, and braking for avoiding approaching with an obstacle. And / or an avoidance event for steering, a curve driving event for traveling a curve, a passing event for passing a predetermined point such as an intersection, a pedestrian crossing or a crossing, a lane change event, a merging event, a branching event, an automatic stop event, automatic driving There is a takeover event etc. for terminating the and switching to the manual operation.

  The action plan generation unit 150 generates a target track along which the vehicle M travels in the future, in accordance with the activated event. Details of each functional unit will be described later. The target trajectory includes, for example, a velocity component. For example, the target trajectory is expressed as a sequence of points (track points) to be reached by the vehicle M. The track point is a point to be reached by the vehicle M for every predetermined traveling distance (for example, several [m]) in road distance, and separately, for a predetermined sampling time (for example, about 0 comma [sec]) ) Target velocity and target acceleration are generated as part of the target trajectory. Further, the track point may be a position to be reached by the vehicle M at the sampling time for each predetermined sampling time. In this case, information on the target velocity and the target acceleration is expressed by the distance between the track points.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how a target track is generated based on a recommended lane. As shown, the recommended lanes are set to be convenient to travel along the route to the destination. The action plan generation unit 150 activates a passage event, a lane change event, a branch event, a merging event, and the like when it approaches a predetermined distance (may be determined according to the type of event) of the switching point of the recommended lane. When it is necessary to avoid an obstacle during the execution of each event, an avoidance trajectory is generated as illustrated.

  The second control unit 160 controls the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the target track generated by the action plan generation unit 150 as scheduled. Control.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (orbit point) generated by the action plan generation unit 150, and stores the information in a memory (not shown). The speed control unit 164 controls the traveling drive power output device 200 or the brake device 210 based on the speed component associated with the target track stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 according to the degree of bending of the target track stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 is realized by, for example, a combination of feedforward control and feedback control. As an example, the steering control unit 166 combines feedforward control according to the curvature of the road ahead of the host vehicle M and feedback control based on the deviation from the target track.

  The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs traveling driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The traveling driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, and the like, and an ECU that controls these. The ECU controls the above configuration in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80.

  The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism for transmitting the hydraulic pressure generated by the operation of the brake pedal included in the drive operator 80 to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and is an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls the actuator according to the information input from the second control unit 160 to transmit the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder It is also good.

  The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor, for example, applies a force to the rack and pinion mechanism to change the direction of the steered wheels. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80.

  Next, each configuration of the winding state recognition unit 140 included in the recognition unit 130 will be described in detail.

  The acquisition unit 142 acquires, using the communication device 20, weather information of the area where the host vehicle M is present. For example, using the communication device 20, the acquiring unit 142 transmits the position information of the vehicle M acquired by the navigation device 50 to an external server, and acquires weather information from the external server. The weather information includes the type of weather (rain, snow, sunny, cloudy, etc.) and information indicating the amount of precipitation.

  In addition, the acquisition unit 142 acquires information indicating the degree of the recognition ability of the object recognition device 16. For example, when the acquisition unit 142 determines that the object recognized by the camera 10 and the object recognized by the finder 14 do not match in the recognition result by the object recognition device 16, the recognition ability by the object recognition device 16 is higher than the reference level. Get information to indicate that it is falling. In addition, the acquisition unit 142 may derive information indicating the level of decrease according to the number of times that the recognized object did not match in a certain period. In addition, when the recognition result by the finder 14 is unnatural, the acquisition unit 142 may acquire information indicating that the recognition ability by the object recognition device 16 is lower than the reference level. When the recognition result by the finder 14 is unnatural, for example, the case where the object continues to be recognized for a predetermined time or more immediately in the vicinity of the host vehicle M is included. In the following description, since the recognition ability by the object recognition device 16 directly affects the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130, both have substantially the same meaning.

  The state recognition unit 144 recognizes the front state of the host vehicle M based on the image captured by the camera 10. The forward state includes a state in which the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m, a state in which the road surface is wet or frozen, and the like. For example, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the front state using, for example, a machine learning method such as deep learning. Also, the state recognition unit 144 may recognize the front state by a modeled method such as pattern matching, or may execute the machine learning method and the modeled method in parallel. . The state recognition unit 144 outputs the recognition result to the determination unit 146.

  FIG. 4 is an example of an image 301 captured by the camera 10. In the image 301, a front traveling vehicle m running on a wet road surface is shown. The front traveling vehicle m travels while rolling up rainwater or the like on the road surface. For this reason, in the image 301, a state in which the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m is shown. The rain water etc. which the front running vehicle m rolls up contains mud, sand, refuse etc., and these are examples of the micro object which the front traveling vehicle m rolls up. The state recognition unit 144 recognizes that the road surface is wet based on the image 301 using the method described above, and is in a state where the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m. Recognize that. When the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m, there is a possibility that the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m can not be seen easily by the spray. In this case, the state recognition unit 144 extracts the image of the vehicle m in front from the image 301, and if it is difficult to recognize the vicinity of the tire of the vehicle m in the image 301, splashing occurs in the vicinity of the tire of the vehicle m in front It may be recognized that it is in the

  The determination unit 146 determines whether rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the forward traveling vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 (including the object recognition device 16 or the like) based on the state in front of the host vehicle M. judge. For example, as described above, when the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the state in which the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m, the judgment unit 146 determines that rainwater on the road being rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m Is determined to affect the recognition unit 130. In addition, when the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that the road surface is wet, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. May be

  In addition, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 may determine whether rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. . For example, when the weather in the area where the vehicle M is present is during or immediately after the precipitation (within a predetermined time after the rain has risen), rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m is the recognition unit 130 It may be determined to affect the In addition, immediately after the precipitation, the period immediately after the precipitation (within 5 minutes) and the period after the precipitation (within 1 hour) are also included by arbitrarily setting the predetermined time after the rain rises.

  In addition, when the recognition ability by the object recognition device 16 is lower than the reference level based on the information indicating the degree of the recognition ability by the object recognition device 16 acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 (or recognition It may be determined that rainwater or the like on the road wound up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 when the degree of the ability becomes equal to or less than the threshold).

  It should be noted that if any one of the above-described determination methods or a plurality of conditions is satisfied, determination unit 146 may determine that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by leading vehicle m affects recognition unit 130. You may judge. For example, when it is recognized that the road surface is wet by the state recognition unit 144, even if it is not raining in the area where the host vehicle M is present, the judgment unit 146 is based on the weather information. It may be determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130.

  In addition, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 may determine whether the recognition capability of the recognition unit 130 in the future is degraded by the rolled up rain water or the like. For example, when the amount of precipitation is within a predetermined range (for example, less than 5 to 20 mm / h, which is a range from weak rain to slightly heavy rain), rainwater or the like rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m adheres to the detection surface of the finder 14 Recognition ability is likely to decline. On the other hand, when the amount of precipitation is equal to or higher than a predetermined range (for example, 20 to 30 mm / h or more, which is a range of depression), the rolled up rainwater or the like hardly adheres to the finder 14. Since the detection surface may be washed away, the recognition ability is unlikely to be reduced. Therefore, when the amount of precipitation is within the predetermined range, the determination unit 146 determines that the recognition capability of the recognition unit 130 in the future is reduced due to the rolled up rainwater or the like. On the other hand, when the amount of precipitation is equal to or greater than the predetermined range, the determination unit 146 determines that the recognition capability of the recognition unit 130 in the future will not be degraded by the rolled up rainwater or the like.

Next, the winding avoidance control by the action plan generation unit 150 will be described in detail.
The action plan generation unit 150 adjusts the relative distance between the host vehicle M and the front traveling vehicle m (hereinafter referred to as an inter-vehicle distance) based on the determination result by the determination unit 146 when executing various events. Do.

  For example, when it is determined by the determination unit 146 that the rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130, the action plan generation unit 150 is rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m The speed of the host vehicle M is controlled to increase the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle M and the front traveling vehicle m, as compared with the case where it is not determined that rainwater or the like on the road affects the recognition unit 130. For example, when the action plan generation unit 150 is performing control to make the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m constant, it is assumed that rainwater or the like on the road wound up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. The inter-vehicle distance in the case where it is determined is set to D1, and the inter-vehicle distance when it is not determined that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 is set to D2 larger than D1. . In addition, even when the control to make the inter-vehicle distance constant is not performed, the action plan generation unit 150 executes deceleration control so as to make the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle m approaching within the predetermined distance clear and measure The deceleration control may be continuously executed so that the inter-vehicle distance to be set is equal to or greater than the set inter-vehicle distance, or switching to control to maintain the set inter-vehicle distance (control to make the inter-vehicle distance constant) It is also good.

  In addition, when it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130, the action plan generation unit 150 determines the weather or road surface condition of the area where the host vehicle M is present. Different inter-vehicle distances may be set in accordance with each other. For example, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance D3 (D3> D1) when it is raining, and immediately after the rain stops or when the rain stops but the road surface is wet. An inter-vehicle distance D4 (D4> D3> D1) may be set.

  In addition, when it is determined that the recognition capability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is reduced by rainwater or the like wound up by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 causes the vehicle M to increase the inter-vehicle distance in advance. You may control the speed of For example, the action plan generation unit 150 sets D5 larger than D1 as the inter-vehicle distance when it is determined that the recognition capability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is reduced due to rainwater or the like wound up by the determination unit 146. D5 may be the same value as D2, or may be a value smaller than D2.

  Next, an example of processing by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 are flowcharts showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the first control unit 120. The processing in FIGS. 5 to 12 is executed, for example, at the timing when the preceding vehicle m is recognized by the recognition unit 130. The first control unit 120 sets the inter-vehicle distance by the process of any of FIGS.

  An example of the first determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the front state of the host vehicle M (step S111). The determination unit 146 determines whether rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 144 (step S113). If the state recognition unit 144 does not recognize that the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m (or if the wet road surface is not recognized), the determination unit 146 determines that It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130. Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m as D1 (step S115). On the other hand, in step S113, when the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that a spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m (or when the road surface is recognized to be wet), the determination unit 146 determines It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S117). By using this first determination process, the front traveling vehicle m is wound up based on the situation where rain water etc. is actually rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m or the situation where it is likely to be rolled up. Whether rainwater or the like on the road affects the recognition unit 130 can be easily determined.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an example of the second determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described. The same processes as those in the first determination process are assigned the same reference numerals and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted. First, the acquisition unit 142 acquires weather information of the area where the vehicle M is present (step S101). Then, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 determines whether the area where the vehicle M is present is during or immediately after the precipitation (step S103). If it is determined that the area where the vehicle M is present is not during or immediately after the precipitation, the determination unit 146 ends the process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the area where the vehicle M is present is during or immediately after the precipitation, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the state in front of the vehicle M (step S111). Thereafter, the determination unit 146 and the action plan generation unit 150 execute the same process as the first determination process. By using this second determination process, it is possible to determine whether rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 according to the weather.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of the third determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described. The same processes as those in the second determination process are assigned the same reference numerals and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted. In step S113, when the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m (or when the road surface is recognized to be wet), the determination unit 146 It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. Next, the determination unit 146 determines whether it is raining in the area where the host vehicle M is present, based on the weather information acquired in step S101 (step S114). When it is determined by the determination unit 146 that it is not raining, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S117). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S114 that the rain has not occurred by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle m to D5 which is larger than D1 and smaller than D2. (Step S116). Even when it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 by using the third determination process, the distance between vehicles when it is raining The distance can be reduced compared to the distance between vehicles in the absence of rain (e.g. immediately after precipitation). Thus, an appropriate inter-vehicle distance can be made to prevent the detection surface of the finder 14 or the like (or the radar device 12) from being soiled.

  Next, an example of the fourth determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the acquiring unit 142 acquires weather information of the area where the host vehicle M is present (step S301). Then, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 determines whether it is raining in the area where the host vehicle M is present (step S303). If it is determined that it is not raining, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the road surface state ahead of the host vehicle M (step S305). The determination unit 146 determines whether or not the state recognition unit 144 has recognized a wet road surface (step S307). If it is determined that the road surface is not wet, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130 (step S309). . Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D1 (step S311).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S303 that it is raining, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 (step S313). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D3 larger than D1 (step S315).

  If it is determined in step S307 that a wet road surface is recognized, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 (see FIG. Step S317). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D4 larger than D3 (step S319).

  The detection surface of the finder 14 can be reduced by reducing the inter-vehicle distance when it is raining as compared to the case where it is not raining when the road surface is wet by using the fourth determination process. An appropriate inter-vehicle distance can be made to prevent contamination.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 9, an example of the fifth determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described. The same processes as those of the fourth determination process are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. If it is determined in step S303 that it is raining, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130 (step S309). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D1 (step S311).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S303 that it is not raining, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the road surface state ahead of the host vehicle M (step S305). The determination unit 146 determines whether the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m and recognizes that the road surface is wet (step S308). . If it is determined that the state in which the spray is rising is not recognized in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m, or if it is determined that the state in which the road surface is wet is not recognized, steps S309 and S311 are performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S308 that the state in which the spray is rising is recognized near the tire of the front traveling vehicle m and it is determined that the state in which the road surface is wet is recognized, the determination unit 146 determines that It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road wound up by the vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 (step S317). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S321).

  By using this fifth determination process, it is recognized that the leading vehicle m is rolling up the spray, and if it is immediately after raining, the inter-vehicle distance is set larger than when it is not. be able to. As a result, it is possible to make an appropriate inter-vehicle distance for preventing the detection surface of the finder 14 from being soiled. In addition, when raining, rainwater on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m may not affect the recognition unit 130. In this case, the finder 14 is not changed by not changing the inter-vehicle distance. An appropriate inter-vehicle distance can be made to prevent the detection surface of the sensor from becoming dirty.

  Note that the process in step S308 may determine only whether the road surface is wet or not. In this way, when the road surface is wet and it is not raining, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. The action plan generation unit 150 can increase the inter-vehicle distance as compared with the case where it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130. When the road surface is wet, the front vehicle m travels a part of the road that is partially lowered and water is accumulated even if the front vehicle m is not splashing, There may be splashing. With this configuration, it is possible to determine that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 in consideration of such a case.

  Next, an example of the sixth determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the acquisition unit 142 acquires information indicating the degree of recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 (step S401). The determination unit 146 determines whether the acquired degree of recognition ability is less than the threshold (step S403). If the recognition ability is not less than the threshold value, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130 (step S405). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m as D1 (step S407).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that the acquired degree of recognition ability is less than the threshold, the determination unit 146 determines that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. It determines (step S409). Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S411). By using this sixth determination process, the road being wound up by the front traveling vehicle m depending on whether or not the finder 14 is actually contaminated by rainwater or the like being wound up by the front traveling vehicle m. It can be determined whether or not rainwater or the like affects the recognition unit 130.

  Next, an example of the seventh determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the acquiring unit 142 acquires weather information of the area where the host vehicle M is present (step S501). Then, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 determines whether or not the recognition capability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is reduced by the rolled up rainwater or the like (step S503). . If it is determined by the determination unit 146 that the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is to be reduced, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 ( Step S505).

  On the other hand, in step S503, when it is determined by the determination unit 146 that the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is not to be reduced, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the front state of the host vehicle M (step S507). ). The determination unit 146 determines whether rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 144 (step S509). If the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that a spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m (or if it is recognized that the road surface is wet), the determination unit 146 determines that the front traveling vehicle m It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the control unit affects the recognition unit 130. Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S505).

  On the other hand, when the state recognition unit 144 does not recognize the state where the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m in step S509 (or when the state of the road surface is not recognized), The plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m as D1 (step S509). By using this seventh determination process, the recognition ability by the future recognition unit 130 is recognized regardless of whether the rainwater on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 or not. Can be increased, the inter-vehicle distance can be increased. Therefore, the period until the finder 14 is cleaned can be extended.

  Next, an example of the eighth determination process by the first control unit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the front state of the host vehicle M (step S601). The determination unit 146 determines, based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 144, whether rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130 (step S603). If the state recognition unit 144 does not recognize that the spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the front traveling vehicle m (or if the wet road surface is not recognized), the determination unit 146 determines that It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130. And acquisition part 142 acquires the weather information on the area where self-vehicles M exist (Step S605). Then, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 determines whether or not the recognition capability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is reduced by the rolled up rainwater or the like (step S607). . If it is determined by the determination unit 146 that the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is not to be reduced, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m as D1 (step S609).

  On the other hand, in step S503, when the state recognition unit 144 recognizes that a spray is rising in the vicinity of the tire of the leading vehicle m (or when the road surface is recognized to be wet), the determination unit 146 It is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the preceding vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. Based on the determination result by the determination unit 146, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m to D2 larger than D1 (step S611).

  In addition, in step S507, when it is determined by the determination unit 146 that the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 in the future is to be reduced, the action plan generation unit 150 determines the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle m by D rather than D1. It is set to D5 which is larger and smaller than D2 (step S613). By using this eighth determination process, future recognition ability is reduced according to weather information even if rainwater or the like on the road rolled up by the preceding vehicle m does not affect the recognition unit 130. It is possible to determine whether to drive the vehicle and to increase the inter-vehicle distance according to the determination result. Therefore, the period until the finder 14 is cleaned can be extended.

  According to the vehicle control device of the first embodiment described above, the recognition unit 130 for recognizing the front traveling vehicle m present in front of the host vehicle M and the self when the front traveling vehicle m is recognized by the recognition unit 130 Based on the recognition state in front of the vehicle M, the determination unit 146 determines whether rain water or the like on the road being rolled up by the front traveling vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130, and the determination unit 146 When it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130, the speed of the own vehicle M is controlled to increase the relative distance between the own vehicle M and the forward traveling vehicle m. By providing the operation control unit (150, 160) to run away from the leading vehicle m when rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130. it can. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the finder 14 from being soiled by a minute object wound up by the leading vehicle m by means of control.

Second Embodiment
Next, referring to FIG. 13, an example of the automatic driving control device 100A according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a functional configuration diagram of an automatic driving control device 100A according to the embodiment. The automatic driving control apparatus 100A includes a first control unit 120A and a second control unit 160. The recognition unit 130 of the first control unit 120A includes a winding recognition unit 140A. The winding recognition unit 140A differs from the winding recognition unit 140 according to the first embodiment in that the determination unit 146 is not provided. The action plan generation unit 150 adjusts the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle M and the forward traveling vehicle m based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 144. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 14, an example of processing by the first control unit 120A will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of the ninth determination process performed by the first control unit 120A. First, the state recognition unit 144 recognizes the road surface state ahead of the host vehicle M (step S701). When the road surface is recognized as being wet, the state recognition unit 144 outputs information indicating that to the action plan generation unit 150. Next, the acquisition unit 142 acquires weather information of the area where the host vehicle M is present (step S703). When the acquired weather information includes that it is raining, the acquiring unit 142 outputs information indicating that fact to the action plan generating unit 150.

  The action plan generation unit 150 determines whether or not the information indicating that it is raining is input from the acquisition unit 142 (step S705). When the information indicating that it is raining is not input, the action plan generation unit 150 determines whether the information indicating that the road surface is wet is input from the state recognition unit 144 (step S 707). ). When the information indicating that the road surface is wet is not input, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle m to D1 (step S709).

  On the other hand, when information indicating that it is raining is input in step S705, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle m to D3 larger than D1 (step S711). Further, when information indicating that the road surface is wet is input in step S 707, the action plan generation unit 150 sets the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle m to D 4 which is larger than D 1 and smaller than D 3. (Step S713).

  According to the vehicle control device of the present embodiment described above, the recognition unit 130 that recognizes the front traveling vehicle m present ahead of the host vehicle M, the state recognition unit 144 that recognizes the state of the road surface, and the host vehicle M It is recognized that the road surface is wet by the acquisition unit 142 that acquires the weather information of the area where the road exists, and the state recognition unit 144, and when it is not raining, the road surface is wet by the state recognition unit 144 The operation control unit (150, 160 that controls the speed of the host vehicle M so as to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle M and the front traveling vehicle m compared to when it is not recognized or when it is raining And the front vehicle m is likely to roll up a micro object, and the rolled up micro object etc. is likely not to be washed away by rain, as compared with the case where it is not. Than traveling vehicle m It is possible to travel far away.

Third Embodiment
Referring to FIG. 15, a recognition unit 130 having the same function and configuration as those of the configuration of the first control unit 120 described above and a part of the operation control unit (150, 160) are used for a vehicle having a driving assistance function. An example will be described below.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a vehicle system 1B using the vehicle control device according to the embodiment in a vehicle having a driving support function. Description of functions and configurations similar to those of the vehicle system 1 will be omitted. The vehicle system 1 </ b> B includes, for example, a driving support control unit 300 instead of part of the configuration of the vehicle system 1. The driving support control unit 300 includes a recognition unit 330 and a driving support control unit 310. The recognition unit 330 includes a winding state recognition unit 340. The winding state recognition unit 340 includes an acquisition unit 342, a state recognition unit 344, and a determination unit 346. Note that these configurations have functions similar to those of the acquisition unit 142, the state recognition unit 144, and the determination unit 146. The configuration shown in FIG. 15 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The driving support control unit 310 has functions such as, for example, a lane keeping assist system (LKAS), an adaptive cruise control system (ACC), and an auto lane change system (ALC). The driving support control unit 310 adjusts the inter-vehicle distance according to the same rule as that in the above-described embodiment, when performing control to make the inter-vehicle distance to the leading vehicle m constant.

  According to the vehicle control device of the third embodiment described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Hardware configuration>
The vehicle control device of the embodiment described above is realized by, for example, the configuration of hardware as shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the vehicle control device of the embodiment.

  The vehicle control device includes a communication controller 100-1, a CPU 100-2, a RAM 100-3, a ROM 100-4, a secondary storage device 100-5 such as a flash memory or an HDD, and a drive device 100-6, which use an internal bus or dedicated communication. It is the composition mutually connected by the line. A portable storage medium such as an optical disk is attached to the drive device 100-6. The program 100-5a stored in the secondary storage device 100-5 is expanded on the RAM 100-3 by a DMA controller (not shown) or the like and executed by the CPU 100-2 to realize a vehicle control device. The program to which the CPU 100-2 refers may be stored in a portable storage medium mounted on the drive device 100-6, or may be downloaded from another device via the network NW.

The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
Storage device,
A hardware processor that executes a program stored in the storage device;
The hardware processor executes the program to
Recognize a leading vehicle ahead of the host vehicle,
It is determined whether rainwater or the like on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit based on the recognition state in front of the host vehicle when the leading vehicle is recognized.
When it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit, the speed of the own vehicle is increased so as to increase the relative distance between the own vehicle and the leading vehicle. Control the
A vehicle control device configured as follows.

  As mentioned above, although the form for carrying out the present invention was explained using an embodiment, the present invention is not limited at all by such an embodiment, and various modification and substitution within the range which does not deviate from the gist of the present invention Can be added.

  For example, when it is determined that rainwater or the like on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle m affects the recognition unit 130, the determination unit 146 may derive the winding degree. The degree of winding may be represented, for example, at a stage defined by numerals (for example, 1 to 3), or may be represented as high or low. For example, when the size and height of the splash of rain water wound up are recognized by the state recognition unit 144, the determination unit 146 may derive the degree of winding according to the size and height of the spray. In addition, when the weather information is acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 may derive the winding degree according to the amount of precipitation included in the weather information. In addition, when the information indicating the recognition ability by the recognition unit 130 is acquired by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 146 may derive the winding degree according to the degree of the recognition ability. Then, the action plan generation unit 150 may set different inter-vehicle distances according to the winding degree derived by the determination unit 146. For example, the action plan generation unit 150 may control the speed of the host vehicle M so that the inter-vehicle distance is larger when the degree of winding is higher than when the degree of winding is low.

  The function of acquiring the recognition capability of the object recognition device 16 in the acquisition unit 142 may be installed in the object recognition device 16.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle system, 10 ... Camera, 12 ... Radar apparatus, 14 ... Finder, 16 ... Object recognition apparatus, 20 ... Communication apparatus, 30 ... HMI, 40 ... Vehicle sensor, 50 ... Navigation apparatus, 60 ... MPU, 80 ... Driving Operator, 100: Automatic operation control device, 120: First control unit, 130: Recognition unit, 140: Roll-up state recognition unit, 142: Acquisition unit, 144: State recognition unit, 146: Judgment unit, 150: Action plan generation Unit 160 Second control unit 162 Acquisition unit 164 Speed control unit 166 Steering control unit 200 Travel driving force output device 210 Brake device 220 Steering device

Claims (9)

A recognition unit that recognizes a preceding vehicle existing ahead of the host vehicle;
Whether the minute object on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle influences the recognition unit based on the recognition state in front of the host vehicle when the recognition unit recognizes the leading vehicle A determination unit that determines
When it is determined by the determination unit that a minute object on the road wound up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit 130, the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle is increased. A driving control unit that controls the speed of the host vehicle;
A vehicle control device comprising: It further comprises an acquisition unit for acquiring weather information of the area where the vehicle is present,
The determination unit further determines, based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit, whether a minute object on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle influences the recognition unit.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1. The determination unit determines, based on the weather information, whether or not the recognition capability by the recognition unit in the future is reduced by the rolled-up micro object.
The speed of the vehicle is controlled so that the relative distance is increased when the determination unit determines that the recognition capability of the recognition unit in the future will be reduced by the small object rolled up. Control the
The vehicle control device according to claim 2. The recognition unit further recognizes the state of the road surface,
When the judgment unit recognizes that the road surface is wet by the recognition unit and the rain does not rain, the minute object on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle influences the recognition unit. judge,
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The determination unit determines that the minute object on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle influences the recognition unit when the recognition capability of the recognition unit is less than a threshold.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The determination unit determines, based on weather information of the area where the host vehicle is present, whether or not it is immediately after precipitation, and determines whether or not it is in precipitation,
When it is determined that the small object on the road being rolled up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit and the driving control unit determines that the minute object is immediately after precipitation, the driving control unit is configured to use the leading vehicle. In order to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle, as compared with the case where the minute object on the road being rolled up affects the recognition unit and it is determined that the vehicle is in the rain, Control the speed of the vehicle
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A forward vehicle existing ahead of the host vehicle, and a recognition unit that recognizes a road surface condition;
An acquisition unit for acquiring weather information of the area where the vehicle is present;
When the recognition unit recognizes that the road surface is wet and it is not raining, the recognition unit does not recognize that the road surface is wet or is compared with the case where it is raining. A driving control unit that controls the speed of the host vehicle to increase the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle;
A vehicle control device comprising: The recognition unit recognizes a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle,
Based on the recognition state in front of the host vehicle when the recognition unit recognizes the front vehicle, the determination unit influences the recognition unit on the micro object on the road being rolled up by the front vehicle. Determine whether to give or not
If it is determined by the determination unit that the minute object on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition unit, the relative distance between the host vehicle and the leading vehicle is Control the speed of the vehicle to increase it,
Vehicle control method. On the computer
Make the front vehicle in front of the host vehicle recognized
Based on the recognition state in front of the host vehicle when recognizing the front traveling vehicle, it is determined whether the minute object on the road being wound up by the front traveling vehicle affects the recognition of the front traveling vehicle Let
When it is determined that a minute object on the road being wound up by the leading vehicle affects the recognition of the leading vehicle, the relative distance between the own vehicle and the leading vehicle is increased, Control the speed of the
program.

Images